Support for self-regulated learning in immersive virtual reality – An experimental design for science learning

Immersive learning technologies such as virtual reality have long been deemed as the next generation of digital learning environments. There is a limited number of studies addressing how immersive technologies can be designed, applied, and studied in collaborative learning settings. This paper presents a systematic review of empirical studies reporting on use of immersive virtual reality in collaborative learning within educational and professional learning settings. 11 studies have been grouped and coded in a textual narrative synthesis, outlining the pedagogical concepts behind the learning design, as well as the design of virtual reality environments and the collaborative learning activities in which the technology is employed. The results suggest that collaborative learning in virtual reality can currently be conceptualised as a shared experience in an immersive, virtually mediated space, where there is a shared goal/problem which learners must attend to collaboratively. This conceptualisation implies a need to design technologies, environments, and activities that support participation and social interaction, fostering collaborative learning processes. Based on the outlined conceptualisation, we present a series of recommendations for designing for collaborative learning in immersive virtual reality. The paper concludes that collaborative learning in virtual reality creates a practice- and reflection space, where learning is perceived as engaging, without the risk of interfering with actual practices. Current designs however struggle with usability, realism, and facilitating social interaction. The paper further identifies a need for future research into what happens within virtual reality, rather than only looking at post-virtual reality evaluations.

This study examines the embodied ways in which learners monitor their cognition while learning about exponential functions in an immersive virtual reality (VR) based game, Pandemic by Prisms of Reality. Traditionally, metacognitive monitoring has been assessed through behavioural traces and verbalised instances. When learning in VR, learners are fully immersed in the learning environment, actively manipulating it based on affordances designed to support learning, offering insights into the relationship between physical interaction and metacognition. The study collected multimodal data from 15 participants, including think‐aloud audio, bird's‐eye view video recordings and physiological data. Metacognitive monitoring was analysed through qualitative coding of the think‐aloud protocol, while movement was measured via optical flow analysis and cognitive load was assessed through heart rate variability analysis. The results revealed embodied metacognition by aligning the data to identify learners' physical states alongside their verbalised metacognition. The findings demonstrated a temporal interplay among cognitive load, metacognitive monitoring, and motion during VR‐based learning. Specifically, cognitive load, indicated by the low‐ and high‐frequency heart rate variability index, predicted instances of metacognitive monitoring, and monitoring predicted learners' motion while interacting with the VR environment. This study further provides future directions in understanding self‐regulated learning processes during VR learning by utilizing multimodal data to inform real‐time adaptive personalised support within these environments. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments have the potential to offer personalised support based on users' individual needs and characteristics. Self‐regulated learning (SRL) involves learners monitoring their progress and strategically regulating their learning when needed. Multimodal data captured during VR learning, such as birds‐eye‐view video, screen recordings, physiological changes and verbalisations, can provide insights into learners' SRL processes and support needs. What this paper adds Provides insights into the embodied aspects of learners' metacognitive monitoring during learning in an immersive VR environment. Demonstrates how SRL processes can be captured via the collection and analysis of multimodal data, including think‐aloud audio, bird's‐eye view video recordings and physiological data, to capture metacognitive monitoring and movement during VR‐based learning. Contributes to the understanding of the interplay between cognitive load, metacognitive monitoring, and motion in immersive VR learning. Implications for practice and/or policy Researchers and practitioners can use the causal relationships identified in this study to identify instances of SRL in an immersive VR setting. Educational technology developers can consider the integration of online measures, such as cognitive load and physiological arousal, into adaptive VR environments to enable real‐time personalised support for learners based on their self‐regulatory needs.

Imagine & immerse yourself: Does visuospatial imagery moderate learning in virtual reality?

Learning Analytics (LA) has advanced significantly in recent years; however, its findings often suffer from limited generalizability and transferability due to reliance on data from a small number of courses. Course design variability is a critical factor influencing students’ learning behavior in online learning environments (OLEs). This study examines how differences in instructional design, specifically in self-regulated learning (SRL) support, predict the intensity and regularity of students’ learning behavior in OLEs. Using qualitative content analysis, we developed the SRL-S coding scheme to systematically assess the extent to which course design supports specific SRL processes. The coding scheme was validated by three independent researchers and applied to 76 courses. Multilevel modeling analysis confirmed substantial variability in student learning behavior across courses. Higher SRL support was associated with more frequent course visits (β = .46, p < .001), greater regularity of visits (β = −.31, p < .001), and increased total time spent in a course (β = .45, p < .001). In contrast, perceived instructional support from the teacher significantly influenced total time spent (β = .12, p = .004) but not the visit frequency (p = .324) or regularity (p = .951). Moreover, SRL support significantly predicted perceived instructional support (β = .17, p = .002). Mediation analysis revealed a small but significant indirect effect of SRL support on total time spent (β = .021, p = .012), while no mediation was found for visit frequency (p = .360) or regularity (p = .836). These findings highlight the pivotal role of structured SRL support in shaping student engagement. Our approach contextualizes LA indicators by accounting for course design differences and suggests that the SRL-S coding scheme could serve as a research-based guideline for enhancing SRL support in online courses.

Person’s immersion in computer virtual reality (VR) is accompanied by numerous distortions in his/her perception due to the replacement of sensory stimuli coming through visual, auditory and partially proprioceptive channels. In this case, the person’s own body becomes an immersion tool, since its movements indirectly affect the movement of the avatar in VR. Performing actions in VR on behalf of the avatar contributes to the appearance of distortions in the perception of one’s own body due to the diffuse effect of actualizing the operational image at the moment of purposeful activity (the subjective body image is modified in accordance with the need to adapt to VR conditions). There are various ways of immersing in VR, taking into account the different degree of involvement of individual parts of the recipient’s real body in controlling a digital character. Thus, the full-body tracking (FBT) technology is becoming widespread, allowing the use of almost all human gross motor skills for projection onto the movements of the avatar. The purpose of the study was to establish the specific features of the distortion of a person’s perception of the size of his/her own body, after its being immersed in computer virtual reality, and the control over the avatar using the FBT technology. The study was conducted in two stages (in 2020 and 2021) in order to compare the intensity and direction of body image distortions of the subjects when they were immersed with and without the FBT technology. The OhShape VR app for mobile immersion without FBT and a modification of the VR Chat app for mobile immersion with FBT were used as experimental exposures. Psychometric data on the subjects’ perception of their own bodies were obtained using the psychometric data on the subjects’ perception of their own bodies were obtained using Moshe Feldenkrais’ methods for physical measurements. According to the results of the study, the use of FBT during immersion in VR leads to distortions in the perception of various body sizes by the subjects, including the trunk and legs, while mobile immersion without the use of FBT only causes distortions in the perception of the dimensions of the upper shoulder girdle. It should be noted that this observation testifies to the connection of distortions with the facts of the involvement of the corresponding parts of the real body of the subjects in the process of controlling the avatar. It is concluded that there are specific distortions in the perception of a person’s own body when being immersed in VR using FBT. Finally, an assumption is made about the possible connection of these distortions with the success of performing intra-environment mobile tasks.

Background: This study extends the theoretical framework based on the Cognitive-Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL) by incorporating flow state and cognitive absorption to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in nursing education. Methods: A randomized experimental design was adopted. A total of 209 students from three nursing assistant training centers in Taiwan were recruited through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either immersive virtual reality (IVR) or Desktop VR groups for nasogastric tube feeding training. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: The results revealed that immersion, curiosity, and control significantly impacted presence, which, in turn, positively influenced the flow state (β = 0.81, p < 0.001). Flow demonstrated positive effects on intrinsic motivation (β = 0.739, p < 0.001), situational interest (β = 0.742, p < 0.001), and self-efficacy (β = 0.658, p < 0.001) while negatively affecting extraneous cognitive load (β = -0.54, p < 0.001). Multigroup analysis showed that IVR had a stronger control-presence effect (|diff| = 0.337, p = 0.016), and flow had a great effect on motivation (|diff| = 0.251, p = 0.01), interest (|diff| = 0.174, p = 0.035), and self-efficacy (|diff| = 0.248, p = 0.015). Desktop VR more effectively reduced cognitive load (|diff| = 0.217, p = 0.041). Conclusions: These findings provide theoretical insights into the role of flow in VR learning and practical guidance for implementing VR technology in nursing education.

When children are learning using adaptive learning technologies (ALTs), the technology builds a learner model, which creates temporal trajectories providing insight into how children's knowledge develops. Based on this learner model, ALTs adjust the difficulty of problems for each child, yet children still need to regulate their practice behaviour and uphold effort and accuracy. The temporal trajectories are consequently likely to, besides showing children's knowledge development, be indicative of children's regulation. Therefore, we explore clusters of these trajectories to further identify failure in children's self-regulated learning (SRL) and potential support needs. We propose a data-driven approach to cluster 354 trajectories of 134 5th graders learning three skills with different complexity. The resulting 9 clusters were interpreted using practice accuracy and effort as indicators of regulation of practice behaviour and prior and post-knowledge and learning gain as indicators of knowledge development. The differences between clusters regarding these indicators signal there are different levels of SRL failure and, consequently, different SRL support needs: high accuracy and knowledge development indicate minimal support needs, whereas clusters with low accuracy, showing no knowledge development, indicate extensive SRL support needs. In conclusion: clusters of temporal patterns in children's learning data can identify SRL support is needed.

With the availability of low‐cost high‐quality head‐mounted displays (HMDs) since 2013, there is a growing body of literature investigating the impact of immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology on education. This meta‐analysis aims to synthesize the findings on the overall effects of IVR using HMDs compared to less immersive desktop virtual reality (DVR) and other traditional means of instruction. A systematic search was carried out on the literature published between 2013 and 2019. Thirty‐five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi‐experimental studies were identified. We conducted an analysis using the random effects model (REM) to calculate the pooled effect size. The studies were also coded to examine the moderating effects of their characteristics, such as learner stage, learning domain, learning application type, testing format, control group treatment and learning duration, on the outcome measure. The results showed that IVR using HMDs is more effective than non‐immersive learning approaches with a small effect size (ES = 0.24). The key findings of the moderator analysis were that HMDs have a greater impact (a) on K‐12 learners; (b) in the fields of science education and specific abilities development; (c) when offering simulation or virtual world representations; and (d) when compared with lectures or real‐world practices. The meta‐analysis also suggested that HMDs can improve both knowledge and skill development, and maintain the learning effect over time. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Head‐mounted displays (HMDs) have been widely applied in various disciplines across both K‐12 and post‐secondary education. HMDs have a positive impact on learning attitudes and perceptions. HMDs have produced mixed results on learning performance. What this paper adds Immersive virtual reality (IVR) using HMDs is more effective than non‐immersive learning approaches with a small effect size. The critical factors of learning implementation and research design moderate the impact of HMDs on learning performance. HMDs can improve both knowledge and skill development and maintain the learning effect over time. Implications for practice and/or policy HMD‐based immersive learning appears to be a better complement to non‐immersive learning approaches. Theory‐driven learning design should be incorporated to guide HMD‐based teaching and learning practice.

Research on learning with and in immersive virtual reality (VR) continues to grow, yielding more insights into how immersive learning works. However, the actual use of VR learning environments in schools is still in its infancy. A major hurdle that hinders the use of immersive digital media in schools is the lack of guidelines for designing VR learning environments for practical use in schools. Such guidelines need to consider how students interact and learn in VR learning environments and how teachers can use such environments on a day-to-day basis. Using a design-based research approach, we explored the guidelines for creating VR learning content for tenth-grade students in a German secondary school and recreated a real-world, out-of-school VR learning space which can be used for hands-on instruction. This paper investigated how to maximise the experience of spatial presence by creating a VR learning environment in several microcycles. Furthermore, it took a closer look at the influence of the spatial situation model and cognitive involvement on this process. The results were evaluated with ANOVAs and path analyses, showing, for example, that involvement does not influence spatial presence in highly immersive and realistic VR learning environments.

Supporting Self-Regulated Learning with Student-Facing Learning Analytics: User-centric Design Guidelines

Virtual reality (VR) provides unique opportunities to deliver high-fidelity simulations in healthcare education. Although widely studied in some healthcare fields, VR's impact on the learning experiences of undergraduate students in speech-language pathology (SLP) remains underexplored. This study investigates how immersive and non-immersive VR simulations may influence student perceptions of learning. Thematic analysis was used to analyse written reflections from 40 undergraduate SLP students who completed the same simulation using either Meta Quest 2 immersive VR headsets or non-immersive desktop computers. Three themes emerged: technology as a barrier or facilitator, content realism and relevance, and personal and environmental factors. Immersive VR was described as novel and engaging, though students reported challenges with usability and technical malfunctions. Non-immersive VR was easy to use but less engaging. Perceptions of content relevance and realism also influenced engagement, whereas environmental and personal factors also shaped participants' learning experiences. Both immersive and non-immersive VR technologies hold promise for enhancing SLP education with unique challenges related in part to simulating interpersonal interactions. Immersive VR's novelty can boost engagement with a learning curve, whereas non-immersive VR is more accessible but less engaging. Educators should ensure adequate orientation to technology, use realistic scenarios and consider overall usability to improve VR experiences. These findings identify considerations on how to incorporate VR in SLP education.

Immersive virtual reality can expose humans to novel training and sensory environments, but motor training with virtual reality has not been able to improve motor performance as much as motor training in real-world conditions. An advantage of immersive virtual reality that has not been fully leveraged is that it can introduce transient visual perturbations on top of the visual environment being displayed. The goal of this study was to determine whether transient visual perturbations introduced in immersive virtual reality modify electrocortical activity and behavioral outcomes in human subjects practicing a novel balancing task during walking. We studied three groups of healthy young adults (5 male and 5 female for each) while they learned a balance beam walking task for 30 min under different conditions. Two groups trained while wearing a virtual reality headset, and one of those groups also had half-second visual rotation perturbations lasting ~10% of the training time. The third group trained without virtual reality. We recorded high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and movement kinematics. We hypothesized that virtual reality training with perturbations would increase electrocortical activity and improve balance performance compared with virtual reality training without perturbations. Our results confirmed the hypothesis. Brief visual perturbations induced increased theta spectral power and decreased alpha spectral power in parietal and occipital regions and improved balance performance in posttesting. Our findings indicate that transient visual perturbations during immersive virtual reality training can boost short-term motor learning by inducing a cognitive change, minimizing the negative effects of virtual reality on motor training. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We found that transient visual perturbations in virtual reality during balance training can boost short-term motor learning by inducing a cognitive change, overcoming the negative effects of immersive virtual reality. As a result, subjects training in immersive virtual reality with visual perturbations have equivalent performance improvement as training in real-world conditions. Visual perturbations elicited cortical responses in occipital and parietal regions and may have improved the brain's ability to adapt to variations in sensory input.

BackgroundSimulation‐based training has significantly improved healthcare professionals' skills and patient outcomes. Immersive virtual reality is gaining attention in this field and offers potential educational benefits. However, little is known about how key stakeholders in simulation‐based training and debriefing receive a complex intervention like immersive virtual reality. This study explores the enablers, barriers and applied debriefing strategies involved in using immersive virtual reality in simulation‐based training.MethodsWe purposefully sampled simulation centre directors, course leaders and researchers within debriefing, simulation‐based emergency training and immersive virtual reality. First, they observed and debriefed an online immersive virtual reality‐based emergency training. Then, they participated in an individual semi‐structured interview that was audio recorded and transcribed. We coded and analysed the data based on a reflexive thematic analysis method with a constructionist framing, guided by normalisation process theory as a theoretical lens. All co‐authors informed and validated the identified themes.ResultsWe conducted 10 individual semi‐structured interviews and generated five main themes on factors that supported or impeded the normalisation of immersive virtual reality for simulation‐based training: understanding, engagement, strategies in action, appraisal and psychological safety.DiscussionImmersive virtual reality contains unique challenges and potential for simulation‐based training. Its strengths and limitations should be carefully considered in relation to learning goals, the target group and context. This study explored the advantages and disadvantages of various immersive virtual reality features in relation to different learning objectives and proposed practical strategies for enhancing learning in immersive virtual reality simulation‐based training.

Educational technology plays an increasingly significant role in supporting Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), while the importance of Adaptive Learning Technology (ALT) grows due to its ability to provide personalized support for learners. Despite recognizing the potential of ALT to be influential in SRL, effectively addressing pedagogical concerns about using ALT to enhance students’ SRL remains an ongoing challenge. Consequently, learners can develop perceptions that ALT is not customized to their specific needs, resulting in critical or dismissive attitudes towards such systems. This study therefore explores the potential of combining Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enhance real-time contextual adaptive learning within an ALT to support learners’ SRL. In addressing this question, our approach consisted of two steps. Initially, we focused on developing an ALT that incorporates learners’ needs. Subsequently, we explored the potential of NLP to capture pertinent learner information essential for providing adaptive support in SRL. In order to ensure direct applicability to pedagogical practice, we engaged in a one-year co-design phase with a high school. Qualitative data was collected to evaluate the implementation of the ALT and to check complementary possibilities to enhance SRL by potentially adding NLP. Our findings indicate that the learning technology we developed has been well-received and implemented in practice. However, there is potential for further development, particularly in terms of providing adaptive support for students. It is evident that a meaningful integration of NLP and ALT holds substantial promise for future enhancements, enabling sustainable support for learners SRL.

With the high growth and prosperity of e-commerce, the retail industry needs to explore new technologies that improve digital shopping experiences. In the current technological scenario, Virtual Reality (VR) emerges as a tool and an opportunity for enhancing shopping activities, especially for the fashion industry. This study explores whether using Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technologies enhances the shopping experience in the fashion industry compared to Desktop Virtual Reality (DVR). A within-subject experiment was carried out involving a sample of 60 participants who completed a simulated shopping experience. In the first mode (DVR), a desktop computer setup was used to test the shopping experience using a mouse and keyboard for navigation. The second mode (IVR) exploited a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), and controllers, that allowed navigation while seated on a workstation to avoid sickness. Participants had to find a bag in the virtual shop and explore its features until they were ready to purchase it. Post-hoc measures of time duration of the shopping experience, hedonic and utilitarian values, user experience, and cognitive load were compared. Results showed that participants experienced higher hedonism and utilitarianism in the IVR shop compared to DVR. The cognitive load was comparable in both modes, while user experience was higher in IVR. In addition, the time duration of the shopping experience was higher in IVR, where users stayed immersed and enjoyed it for longer. This study has implications for fashion industry research, as the use of IVR can potentially lead to novel shopping patterns by enhancing the shopping experience.